Madras HC dismisses plea seeking disqualification of Kanimozhi, Kathir Anand

The Madras High Court dismissed a plea to prevent DMK's candidates Kanimozhi and Kathir Anand from fighting the Lok Sabha polls for allegedly violating the model code conduct.

A bench of justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad dismissed the plea after the Election Commission told the court that the two have been booked for allegedly resorting to electoral malpractices.

As the plea came up for hearing before the bench, the poll panel counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan told the judges that FIRs have been filed against both the candidates on complaints of violation of the model code.

The bench accordingly dismissed the petition after recording the poll panel

The Lok Sabha elections are to be held in Tamil Nadu on April 18.

Petitioner V Abdullah Sait of Ramanathapuram had urged the court to direct the EC to initiate action against Kanimozhi and Anand, contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Tuticorin and Vellore constituencies respectively, for violating the model code.

He had also sought the court's directive to the poll panel to bar the duo from contesting the polls.

Sait alleged in his petition that Kanimozhi had been 'clandestinely' distributing cash to voters during campaigning and police have booked a case against DMK members in this regard.

Pointing to the seizure of huge cash by the Income Tax Department, purportedly belonging to Anand, the petitioner had sought action against him also.

These candidates have made a mockery of the system and have reduced the faith of common citizens in the election process, he alleged.

Incidentally, the EC Tuesday cancelled the election in Vellore Lok Sabha constituency citing seizure of huge cash from an associate of a DMK leader recently.